Automobile drivers frequently experience glare from direct sunlight entering through the windshield as well as from light reflected by portions of the automobile, particularly the automobile hood, and reflecting ornaments on the hood or mounted to the front portion of the automobile and visible through the windshield. Virtually all automobiles have provisions to limit or prevent glare from direct sunlight by retractably mounting sunvisors above the windshield. Normally, however, no means is provided for shielding the driver from light reflected by the front portion of the automobile (hereinafter "hood"). Nevertheless, such reflection can be as annoying and potentially hazardous as glare from direct sunlight.
In the past, attempts have been made to shield the driver from light reflected by the hood by mounting to a portion of the interior of the automobile a vertically extensible, sectional shield. Such shields are to be mounted to what is commonly referred to as the automobile dashboard. U.S. Pat. Nos. 2,305,677 and 3,003,812 are exemplary of such anti-glare shields. In general terms the anti-glare shields disclosed in these patents are permanently mounted, e.g. bolted to a portion of the dashboard and they comprise a plurality of horizontally elongated shield sections. Adjacent, horizontal edges of the sections are hingedly interconnected so that the whole shield can be raised into its anti-glare position or retracted when not needed.
The glare shields disclosed in the referenced patents are add-on features and since the dashboards have no convenient provisions for mounting them thereon they are generally unattractive and may interfere with the driver's view of the instrument panel or with the accessibility and usefulness of the horizontal dashboard portion. Even though the shield is typically used infrequently, that is, only at such times as the relative position of the sun causes reflection from the hood to strike the driver, it interferes with the proper use of the dashboard and the instrument panel at all times. In other words, such shields are mostly a nuisance.
More seriously, when the shield is in its extended position, all shield sections are generally unsupported. An inherent stiffness in the connecting hinges or secondary frictional support mechanisms (such as shown in U.S. Pat. No. 3,003,812) keep the shield in its extended position. The constant shock and vibration to which the connections are subjected during normal driving conditions, however, have a tendency to cause the shield to retract unless the connections are exceedingly rigid and, therefore, hard to operate. In either event the shield is difficult to use and, due to the many component parts, assembly requirements, etc. relatively expensive. As a consequence, such anti-glare shields have never come into any widespread use and drivers continue to be annoyed and exposed to potential hazard from light reflected by the hood.